To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

Tsunade had scolded Nawaki many times, but every time he patted his chest to promise he would change, he would inevitably revert to his old ways once they reached the battlefield.

The moment Uchiha Chonhua saw that Orochimaru was leading the team this time, he felt a sense of déjà vu seeing Nawaki standing by his side.

To be safe, Uchiha Chonhua warned Nawaki before they set off: he must not lose his head, and he must follow orders.

He must not act on his own.

"Geez, why are you acting as nagging as my sister?" Nawaki said, looking somewhat helpless, before patting his chest once more to assure Uchiha Chonhua: "Don't worry, Chonhua, I absolutely won't act on my own again."

"You'd better not."

Uchiha Chonhua remained skeptical.

"Chonhua, over there!"

Uchiha Chonhua, holding a chakra blade, narrowed his eyes at the words of his clansman and raised his hand to slash into the empty air.

Though it appeared to be a wasted swing, he had actually severed the chakra threads the Sunagakure ninja was using to control his puppet.

The puppet controlled by the Sunagakure squad leader instantly lost control and collapsed to the ground.

"Sharingan..."

That wasn't all; beyond the unsettling Sharingan, the Sunagakure squad leader was also met with the sight of the pure, translucent Byakugan.

"The Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan—we stray soldiers are truly honored to be held in such high regard by you."

With two great ocular jutsu clans serving them, how could they lack such "blessings"?

The Sunagakure squad leader surged his chakra, immediately formed hand seals, and shouted: "Puppet Technique: Poison Explosion!"

Hizashi Hyuga's Byakugan shifted, immediately observing that something was wrong with the puppet slumped on the ground.

"Bad news, get away from that puppet!"

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Before Hizashi Hyuga's voice had even faded, Uchiha Chonhua moved, creating a shadow clone that rushed forward to scoop up the puppet and head straight toward the Sunagakure squad leader.

This move made the Sunagakure squad leader's soul flee in terror; he dared not detonate the poison gas in his own vicinity.

He hurriedly changed his strategy, stopping the flow of chakra and instead controlling the puppet to open its mouth, firing a poison-coated dart that blew Uchiha Chonhua's shadow clone to pieces.

Before he could even catch his breath, a strange phenomenon occurred.

His own teammates suddenly began controlling their puppets to attack him.

Caught off guard, and more importantly, never expecting to be attacked by his own comrades, the Sunagakure squad leader's pupils constricted. He scrambled back to dodge, but was still struck by a poisoned arrow from a puppet.

"Damn it!"

The Sunagakure squad leader felt his strength fading and hurriedly pulled out an antidote pill, swallowing it in one gulp.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at his controlled teammates, and even less daring to look at the enemy.

Especially the members of the Uchiha Clan.

The Sunagakure squad leader knew exactly how his teammates' strange behavior had come about; they must have been caught in the genjutsu of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

"Do you think you won't be controlled just because you don't look at the Sharingan?"

Uchiha Chonhua's voice drifted over calmly. The Sunagakure squad leader looked at his own hands in horror; they were crumbling like shredded paper, the disintegration spreading rapidly across his entire body!

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

The Sunagakure squad leader screamed in terror. He tried to stop his body from falling apart, but he couldn't; he could only watch helplessly as his entire being shattered into dust, scattered by the wind.

In reality, the Sunagakure squad leader was foaming at the mouth, his eyes vacant and dull, staring blankly ahead.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Sunagakure ninja squad present had all fallen into a genjutsu they couldn't escape; kunai were casually tossed, piercing everyone's throats and easily sending the Sunagakure squad to their graves.

That was the inevitable result of fighting against the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

"Chonhua, to be able to do this much without even using the Sharingan," the Uchiha clansman exclaimed in admiration, "you are truly skilled in genjutsu; your attainments are not low!"

He could perform genjutsu of this level, but only with the assistance of the Sharingan.

Without the boost of the Sharingan, he figured he could only maintain control for a fleeting moment.

He certainly couldn't achieve what Uchiha Chonhua had done by directly controlling the Sunagakure squad leader.

"Truly worthy of being someone the Hokage values."

Uchiha Chonhua paid no mind to the praise. He kept his Mind's Eye of the Kagura active, constantly monitoring the situation of the main force.

He was mainly worried about Nawaki; he still felt uneasy. Fortunately, the range of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura was vast, and with his current chakra reserves, everything within a radius of several dozen miles was within his perception.

"Let's go, there are two more Sunagakure squads."

The members of the Hyuga Clan took the lead with their Byakugan, casting subtle glances at Uchiha Chonhua.

Uchiha Chonhua noticed; they must have sensed the massive amount of chakra within his body.

It is truly startling and perplexing for an Uchiha to possess such a massive amount of chakra.

Hizashi Hyuga looked at Uchiha Chonhua, wanting to speak but holding back, and in the end, he remained silent.

Since becoming Chunin, they had not seen each other for a while; after all, he belonged to the sensory unit and was randomly assigned to support combat teams, and he was unlucky enough not to be assigned to Uchiha Chonhua's squad.

During rest periods, Hizashi Hyuga did not have the hobby of activating his Byakugan to observe others, but now that they were fighting side by side, Uchiha Chonhua's chakra appeared before his eyes under the observation of his Byakugan, instantly shocking Hizashi Hyuga.

Chonhua's chakra... how did it suddenly become so immense!?

It had not been that long since they last met, and this change was truly beyond Hizashi Hyuga's comprehension.

He could not understand it, and neither could the other members of the Hyuga Clan.

They had only ever seen such massive amounts of chakra in the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan; when had they ever seen it in the Uchiha Clan?

Are you sure he is really a member of the Uchiha Clan? We have never seen an Uchiha clansman with such a massive amount of chakra!

Although astonished, they did not open their mouths to ask.

They were not close, and as families that both possessed Kekkei Genkai ocular techniques, there was a subtle sense of rivalry between them, making it even more awkward for them to inquire.

As a friend and teammate, Hizashi Hyuga could have asked...

[The destiny of the chosen one is indeed special.]

Hizashi Hyuga shook his head, explaining it to himself as he was a believer in fatalism.

The gaze he directed toward Uchiha Chonhua became even more reverent and fanatical.

Chapter 59: Sharingan, Activate!

"Rasengan!"

Uchiha Chonhua smashed a sphere of energy into the enemy, sending them flying instantly. The distorted, chaotic force of the rotation shredded the opponent's internal organs, and the enemy was already dead in the air before they could even hit the ground.

"Over there, another squad of Sunagakure ninja has been discovered."

A Chunin from the Hyuga Clan had once again detected the enemy's trail. The Chunin from the Uchiha side sneered, "With Sunagakure sending out so many squads, aren't they afraid that their main force will be insufficient and get wiped out by our frontal assault?"

"Perhaps they are very confident in their own strength."

Hizashi Hyuga remarked.

Those Sunagakure ninja squads were scattering in all directions, attempting to circle behind them. Whether they were trying to launch a sneak attack from the rear or penetrate deeper into the Land of Fire to cause destruction, it was a troublesome matter for Konoha.

This ninja force, composed of the two great ocular technique clans—the Uchiha and the Hyuga—was specifically tasked with clearing out these scattered Sunagakure squads.

"The battle near Lord Orochimaru is about to end."

At this moment, a Jonin from the Hyuga Clan suddenly spoke.

This seemed to corroborate the Uchiha Chunin's statement. He spread his hands and said with a mocking laugh, "Look, they were indeed defeated head-on."

"However, even if all the Sunagakure ninja were present, the outcome was already destined!"

The Uchiha Chunin held great confidence in Konoha's power; even if the enemy's ninja had not dispersed, they still would not have been able to defeat Konoha.

A pair of scarlet, eerie Sharingan eyes shimmered with mockery, filled with disdain for Sunagakure.

Uchiha Chonhua frowned deeply. In the sensing range of his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, the chakra points belonging to Sunagakure were constantly retreating.

The chakra points belonging to Konoha were in pursuit. As the enemy's retreat speed increased, the cold, snake-like chakra point stopped, and the other chakra points around it stopped in synchronization.

Uchiha Chonhua's figure paused, and his expression changed.

"Apologies, I need to head to where Senior Orochimaru is."

Before he had even finished speaking, lightning began to coil around Uchiha Chonhua's body, and he sped off rapidly toward the direction of the main combat force!

"Hey! Chonhua!"

The Uchiha clansmen looked on in surprise, stunned by Uchiha Chonhua leaving the squad.

This counts as violating orders and leaving the squad without authorization!

"Chonhua must have sensed something unusual."

Hizashi Hyuga looked at the dissatisfied Hyuga clansmen and explained, "Chonhua acts with prudence; he must have discovered something to leave so suddenly."

"I am familiar with Chonhua; his sensory abilities are very strong. Doing this must have a deeper meaning."

Hearing Hizashi say this, the dissatisfaction of the Hyuga clansmen dissipated, though one still muttered, "He could have told us if there was something..."

"Hmph, Chonhua is someone valued by the Hokage. He has his own reasons for what he does. Why would he tell you Hyuga? If he were to tell anyone, it should be us!"

The Uchiha clansman glared with his Sharingan, and now it was their turn to look at the Hyuga Clan with dissatisfaction.

"What do you mean by that, Uchiha!"

"I should be the one asking what you mean! Who are you making that sour face at? What, are you dissatisfied with us Uchiha?!"

"I think you're the one dissatisfied with the Hyuga! Are you looking for a fight?!"

"..."

Watching the Uchiha and Hyuga begin to bicker, Hizashi Hyuga stood in the middle, sweating profusely as he tried to mediate.

How did they end up arguing so suddenly?

He knew the Hyuga and Uchiha didn't get along, but surely they shouldn't be bickering at a time like this.

This was a battlefield, and they still had a mission to complete!

"Ah! The Sunagakure ninja squad we spotted earlier is trying to escape!"

Hizashi Hyuga roared, and the Uchiha and Hyuga clansmen looked in the direction he pointed in unison.

They shouted together: "Don't let them get away!!"

Hizashi Hyuga wiped away non-existent sweat; fortunately, Konoha's enemies were still more important than clan grievances.

Hizashi Hyuga looked toward the direction Uchiha Chonhua had left in.

I wonder what Chonhua discovered?

Within the field of vision of his Byakugan, Uchiha Chonhua was nowhere to be found.

"Do not pursue a desperate foe; beware of an ambush."

Orochimaru waved his hand to bring the troops to a halt; stopping the advance of Sunagakure was sufficient for this mission.

The retreat route of Sunagakure was the very path they had taken to invade the Land of Fire.

There was no guarantee that hidden traps or ambushes weren't waiting.

As a disciple of the Hokage, Orochimaru possessed outstanding strength and significant prestige; at his command, the Konoha ninja obeyed one after another, all ceasing their pursuit.

But one person did not stop.

Nawaki did not stop, charging off in the direction of Sunagakure.

Orochimaru's expression changed, knowing that Nawaki had lost his head again and was acting on his own accord!

"Nawaki, stop at once!"